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Halfords want £44, Amazon £24. Thanks for the heads up

First few trips including motorway, city, minor roads, farm tracks, unmade lanes, snow and ice! Collected my 23 plate XV SE Premium a few weeks ago and immediately treated it to a new set of Continental All Season Contact 2. First impressions? Road holding is superb in a variety of conditions. Living in very rural mid Wales, have been able to test on muddy roads, very wet roads, through some floods, we even had two days of snow up to about 3 inches on the roads, then rutted farm tracks with frozen snow and broken ice. So far, all I can say is wow. My old car was a battered 2013 4wd Duster with full mud and snow off road tyres and that could cope with most conditions admirably. However, the XV was happy in all conditions so far with no complaints, plus it's a heck of a lot more comfortable than the old war horse! I had read about the CVT taking a bit of getting used to, the adaptive cruise being a pain, the safety stuff being a bit too safe, the acceleration being poor, the engine noisy, the infotainment system being glitchy, the music system being poor as well as many other complaints (mainly from motoring journalists). All I can say is that my initial experience is this:- The CVT is pretty smooth and Subaru have done a good job of making it feel like a conventional auto. Adaptive cruise is extremely controllable, all the way to standstill and pulling away again. Safety is superb, love the little lights on the mirrors letting you know something is alongside, the fast flash when someone is coming up fast or a pedestrian is walking behind you in a car park. The front view camera is superb when parking, as is the rear parking assist camera. Acceleration is smooth and steady, not the quickest, but that doesn't bother me. I'm not trying to win the RAC. The engine noise is acceptable, certainly not excessive on acceleration. No glitches with the Infotainment system so far, got a decent USB cable and the set up is easy and quick, Android Auto works well, the built in navigation is quick and easy to update to current maps, system is easily customisable, intuitive and the touch screen easy to navigate. Google Voice commands work well. DAB is decent with seamless transitions between digital and FM, essential round here as signal is sketchy. How loud do motoring journalists want their music systems? Up into the low 20's on the control and the music is loud and crisp with no distortion. Sat at around 15 is plenty loud enough for normal listening. Air con is fantastic, heated seats perfect, space great, boot is compact but sufficient, seats are comfortable, handling is out of this world for a high ground clearance car, all the toys work well, Eyesight system is superb. Fuel economy is around 40mpg so far, EV system around London was excellent this weekend and the thing I love the most is that I've only seen two other XV's so far! Cool Marque with a nice bit of exclusivity. Granted these are pretty early days, but so far very impressed and pleased with my purchase and looking forward to many happy miles in the Scooby. Off to Europe next week, so let's see how we handle autoroutes and cobbles!

Glad you like it, you missed out the best bit, heated seats, XV is the first car i've had thats had them hahaha

The TPMS sensors have batteries that only last 5 to 6 years and which aren't garage replacable so you have to buy a whole new sensor - a real rip-off. Subaru don't make these sensors, they re-badge Schrader ones and mark them up. Do your own research, but I believe the Schrader 3076 is probably the one used on used on recent Subaru - they are half the price of the 'genuine' Subaru ones. My go to garage says they 90% sure they'll be able to program the one I've bought as a test when I get it serviced at the end of the month - the nearest Subaru dealer want £500 to change all 4 !! BTW if the battery(s) are fine but on the way out, they will still trigger the TPMS warning when the weather is colder than 10C as I've found out with the recent mild weather.

Hello Shirley, I had the same issue with my Impreza ( XV is basically an Impreza with more ground clearance ). Key fob battery replacement every few months. What you need to do is put your fob into sleep mode when you lock the car. That way the car and fob will not be constantly communicating using up both the fob and main car battery. If when you lock your car you hold the lock button down and while keeping it down also press the unlock button twice - two flashes from the key fob red light will confirm the fob is now in sleep mode. To unlock do as usual. Press unlock once for the driver's door or twice for all doors. I hope this helps 🙂

There is a follow on update FC7BHM141-070 that has brought the new style display onto my 2022 Outback. Linked car to home WiFi to update.

soe photos for assistance - presents well but under the skin .. and over skin... issues for an enthusiast to bring it up to scratch are mentioned in my first post - offers considered

Is it correct type of hose, injection system fuel hose for moderm ethynol fuel blends is specific type and carries a SAE code printed along it's length - example: SAE J30R9 for a modern high standard non submursed hose, You do have ISO and DIN standards and you best cross referencing those as and if needed . Can be quite difficult getting right type/quality aftermarket as majority of common/easy sources likely stock cheapest garbage they can source and a lot will sell you wrong hose as they clueless or just want make money from selling something . As with most things you buy these days that need quality/design/function specifics you got be fussy on how you source them . Other things to check would be fuel system pressure being controlled correctly .

Strange, if the level is physically ok then could be a sensor problem.

Hello and happy to say I pick up my new to me 3 year old Outback next week. Have done a fair bit of research since we decided to buy it. At the moment considering the benefits of putting all season tyres on it and advice on the best options would be great. We live in Scotland and had several 4X4 over the years but the outback will be our first car with 4 wheel drive. Thanks Dave

Sad thing is it really shows how bad subaru UK is/was when info like this shows up.

She has finally arrived from Singapore now 😎 2.0 GT-S with 48,500kms on the clock

Thanks all for your input - sorry to hear about your issues @Justin Time - will keep a close eye on brake issues after this! and thanks @Hippo for the vote of confidence So I pulled the trigger on a low milage 2021 gen 5 which I picked up last week - I have to say I am absolutely loving it, and feel that I have absolutely made the right choice stepping into the Subaru club….after a week of driving even more perplexed by how much they get such middling reviews in the press….I’m not used to driving particularly fast cars, but it certainly feels more than punchy enough…it doesn’t particularly feel much slower in the real world than my wife’s xc40 which does 0-60 in sub-8.0 seconds.. aside from that great comfort, ridiculous amounts of space, and imo great sharp handling for such a big car (came with Michelin cross climates which might help) one happy buyer here!

The thread below seems to give some good details on Outback reliability. Overall I would say the petrol Outbacks should be more reliable than the diesels, i.e. no DPF or turbo to worry about, but I'd say it's more down to how it's been looked after by the previous owner(s). No issues with mine so far, touch wood!

I would start with removing the bonnet switch, cleaning and examining it - test with a multimeter that there is continuity when opened/closed and also the connections for dirt, corrosion, etc. If all else fails then bypassing will work, but not sure how many thieves would pop the bonnet which they still have to enter the car to release so its not a major thing in reality.

Made light work of it the machine definitely saved our backs 😅

Lincolnshire

Thank you. I will look again at what is available on line.

Sometimes you just got to put them side by side and measure everything as there could be so many variables between them. Let us know how you get on with it all and good to see some pics of good old driveway maintenance

Just a bit oily in there will be de greasing and cleaning up tomorrow

I assume it might be the problem of the needle backlight bleeding out when the needle at a certain position to your viewing angle and for you that is when needle at the 40 position ...

Well that picture is not a 1999 Forester sf hub lol . Poor pics but probably a SH SJ hub ! What is the actual correct vehicle details/scenario !? below is actual subaru fast parts illustrations of a SF Forester non turbo rear hub and brake drum layout .

I'm curious @Achilleas did you resolve. Just bought a 2023 Forester and disappointed with Hybrid and mpg. Manual says "when speed is less than 25mph it is possible to drive using only the power of the electric motor" but that's not my experience. It only kicks in when stopped or at very slow speed. Maybe have battery problem? What's your experience of this? tks Peter

Don't remap until you find a cause of the check engine. Remapping can make the problem a lot worse. What codes did the garage pull from the ecu?

Just gone out again on the last trip so I've ordered a replacement sensor.....

Shall start with the warnings and info to get em out the way The first thing to ask is probably what experience do you have of running a high performance car? Do you understand things can go wrong very quickly if your not used to the performance (trust me, been there done that. I killed my first launching it over a hedge upside down after dodging a stupid pedestrian who decided to cross the road in front of me. Not really my fault, but car was still smashed to bits), plus the rozzers are always on the lookout ;) Next is have you got a handle on the costs involved? They drink fuel, which needs to be decent so vpower or tesco 99, depending on how you drive could be low teens mpg. Keeping on top of servicing and maintenance is a must, Oil changes should be done every 3k miles (dont listen to anyone saying 10k miles etc etc), full belt and tensioner kit every 3 years or relevant milage. Don't forget that while you may pay 20k for it now, when it was sold it was 30-40k and parts costs reflect that. This also brings on the point that A its a 20 year old car and while japan is alot easier on them for rust etc, its still had 20 years of wear and tear and B expect it to need some bits and bobs, highly unlikely it will have had a proper service, oil change etc etc when it was sold so could easily rack up £2000 worth of basic service stuff, oil change, coolant, spark plugs, belt kit, may need a set of tyres etc etc etc, additionally parts will be worn, including expensive parts like engine, gearbox suspension parts etc. O dont skimp on tyres, expect £100 ish per corner for a decent set of something like pilot sports. Tax rates on them can vary alot, depending on where it falls, mines £760 a year (some imports seem to be cheaper some not) Make sure you get some quotes for insurance, including making sure you declare each and every mod it has or just before you do them. If you dont and either get caught by the rozzers or need to have insurance involvement, as soon as they inspect the car (and they will) you'll be facing charges of driving without insurance, no insurance payout, plus what ever other costs and a very black mark on your record going forward that will give you difficulty getting insurance on any car. Bear in mind im yet to see any imported cars that are not modified so the declaration bit is a must. So the good, Holy feck are they fun to drive, they don't say miles of smiles for no reason. Straight line they are fast, but not a rocket ship other than on launch. Being AWD they launch like a scalded cat due to the traction they have, but then they loose more power through transition loss (roughly 15% for 2wd 25% for awd). Back roads, well thats a different story, thats where they really come to life. I may have, 20+ years ago and in a different country cough cough, left a police pursuit volvo for dust on some back roads in a mildly tuned uk classic. In such a fashion i didnt even realise he was trying to catch me and too fast for the cars vascar to get a reading on the twisty roads. The funniest thing was i wasn't even flat out as i was just having a bit of fun on my way up to the garage. But just shows how rapid they are as i am by no means an expert driver. The JDM impreza comes with a 2.0 engine, twin scroll turbo vs the UK 2.5 engine, single scroll turbo, which you prefer is really personal preference as they both have good and bad points. Also they sound slightly different due to the exhaust manifold being equal on the JMD and unequal length on the UK. The JDM is no longer a forged pistoned engine as they were years ago, but is still good for about 400bhp ish out the box with supporting mods. The UK is a bit of a dog engine wise, it has various issues with headgasket failures and ring land failures with the 2.5 so 350bhp is about the limit you'd want to go to. But it tends to come with alot more torque, which for me makes them a better road car engine. Modding wise your only really limited by your budget. (prices mentioned are just approximate so could be way out), also should be noted some cars just tune better than others and it varies wildly, I've seen cars struggle to break the 300bhp mark no matter how they get mapped. A remap, exhaust and panel filter will see around 330bhp (up from 280 ish). Although the improvements in responce far out weight the extra power imo, will prob come in around £2k, At that stage your then onto replacing the standard turbo, maybe injectors etc to take you up towards 400bhp. prob around 5k ish After that you then get into 10k+ for an engine build and alot of supporting mods, aftermarket ecu's etc etc etc Exhausts vary from quiet to mahoosive bean cans that you can hear from 5 miles away haha there are plenty of options for suspension upgrades from simple lowering springs to full coilovers. Roll bar upgrades, etc etc etc (its a big list haha) Brakes again have plenty of upgrades, but most folks just simply go for a set of AP brakes which vary in price depending on pads and disks. (may need to include a set of larger wheels to fit them) One word of warning is to be carefull of tuners promising mega results etc etc, if it sounds too good to be true, it may well be and there alot of dodgy tuners in the subaru game. Dam that was a wall of text haha, but def important to think about it seriously. There's loads more to learn about em but that gives you a bit of info have a read through, Here's a link to mine which is a late 06 uk,

Did you swap the ecu? The imobiliser used to be linked with the ecu and the keys on the older models. so if the ecu was swapped the keys wont work the immobiliser. Could it be something like that?

Yeah the first one just tried to scam you, unless there was some other reason they said it needs a new gearbox. Could be idle control valve or possibly battery/alternator related, sounds daft, but on our XV when the battery was really low it kept stalling when loaded up by the power steering or dropping to idle.

Regarding the possible cause(s), I'd suggest you also post your issue on here, as they have a much wider experience of Subarus and OBs. https://www.subaruoutback.org/ Hope you get it sorted.

Welcome to sods law. It knew, i'm telling you it knew!!!!! lol At least no big bill for now I'd keep an eye on your oil level by checking it regularly just in case the sensor is on the way out and that nothing funky is going on

I used to do the swap annually on my Outback, but now I use Michelin Cross Climate, fully legal in the Swiss Alps all the year round.

Hi. Please feel free to give us a try for insurance if you wish. Regards, Dan.

Have you tired the usual importcarparts?

Hi. Outbacks /Subarus are still fairly rare in the UK so also consider this US site where Subaru's and Outbacks are very popular, so much more info. https://www.subaruoutback.org/ As I'm on my second Outback, I clearly have a fondness for them. I like their safety, size, comfort, etc. There are quirks however, and the mainstream dealership I've found to be wanting. Look for an independent garage if there's one near by. They're reliable but change the oil much more regularly than the owner's manual suggests (every 6000 miles?) if you want to keep it long term. Great off road, with proper all-season or winter tyres. Reliable and I never had any issues with my last one 50,000 aside from dealership problems. They'll be heavier on brakes and tyres perhaps, and expect to get 30 - 35 mpg if driving on A and B roads with hills. I wouldn't buy one for heavy commuting, or doing local trips to and from the shops. But for safely driving the family around the countryside, and all your gear, in comfort, they're great.

Hi, I have just bought a 2001 JDM Impreza WRX STI

I've been using Continental All Season Contact, and Goodyear vector all seasons on my Outback and Levorg for the last few years, also in rural Wales, and they've been faultless, especially in slimy wet conditions. Highly recommended.

Bought a Field, not brand new but no regrets. Really nice car to drive did think about the premium however being a Scotsman didn't fancy the high road tax, but there again the memory seats would have been nice. Looking forward to lots of snow ❄️

Personally, I'd stay clear of the diesel engines. Subaru never really got them working as well as the petrol ones. I had a petrol 18 reg XV for 6 years, one of the best cars I've had.

Much appreciate your opinion and insights Judd.

Thanks for that info Judd and I will check out the forums too. I've been looking at something a bit like this one https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202505052055417?sort=price-desc&searchId=3ad54a54-2151-4185-8be2-d501efa62a98&advertising-location=at_cars&fuel-type=Diesel&make=Toyota&maximum-mileage=60000&model=Land Cruiser&page=4&postcode=DL12 0QY&year-from=2020&year-to=2024&fromsra Is that the 150 or 200 series? I'd not go for that one (too many owners for the age and it's a private sale, etc.) , just using it as an example. The invincible models seems to attract a hefty mark up - worth it? (I hope you're going to say no :) ) More choice with the Active trim too. Hardly any Icons trims. I like the utility version, but I don't think I'd convince my partner, with just 2 seats, as she's super sociable !

Re introducing myself to forum members forgot all my details until today when they flagged when I tried to rejoin (what a pi770ck)

TBH subaru has never been a big seller in the uk, they arn't exactly customer focused like most other brands, my parents just picked up their brand new crosstrek a few weeks back and the choice's they had to make to select it were very limited, limited colour availability even from the very small options lisy, only 2 trim levels (which is basicly cloth and no sunroof or leather seats and sunroof) and only cvt gearbox creates a very limited customer base. Don't get me wrong, the crosstrek is a very nice car, its just from a customer experiance its you get what you get.

2 use KYB brand. if wait for ebay 20% coupon code you can get them quite cheap ...

New rear subframe with all new arms, bolts and hubs almost ready to transplant into the car, that will hack the mot tester of as he won’t be able to rust rear subframe comments anymore!

Got it to Pass today while it was hot. Thanks

I received an email today entitled 'Subaru Map Update Portal' informing me that a update was available for my Outback. After checking it through my virus checker etc. I clicked on the link and was taken to the Portal where I had to register and was then sent an activation code. After eventually getting the code and inputting it, to be told I again needed an activation code but when I put that new code in I was then further informed my account was already activated (you're getting the gist of this right!). I realised this wasn't going to be straightforward. Any road, eventually I got an account set up and logged in the vehicle with its VIN - all well again. Then I had to download the map installation system (more shenanigans), but eventually done. The page helpfully (not!) in formed me that Starlink was no longer in use since 2023 (I'd not bothered anyway as it was useless), it then proceeded simply to offer me more opportunities to download the map installer - again, with no way forward. The map installer is for OS X (my laptop) so it should have worked - it didn't. Route two: checked the online manual on the page and saw there was a mobile phone route. Ah ha! Phone put and I got to the page www.subaru-maps.com, and logged in, I had again to download the map installer, but was only given the option of OS X version or Windows - so no ios then! Urgh. Getting more and more frustrated, I went to the 'contact us' link and scrolled down to the UK link and clicked, to be taken to UK Subaru page https://subaru.co.uk/customer-support where I was informed by 'customer support' "sorry - page no longer exists'! What a complete waste of time and sadly simply reinforces the image of Subaru technology being all froth and little substance. Rant over - so back to the my padded cell...!

On a similar theme, I was in my local Subaru dealer this morning and saw a new sign encouraging me to update my details on the Subaru website so I would always receive special offers, latest news etc. I scanned the QR code on the sign only to find it sent me to the same “Sorry - page no longer exists”……..

They also got me this Cross Sport type S I’m currently driving 🤣🤣 Still got the little white beast too but looks different since I last posted

M30 alarm document link > https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7Ub2apq5-pfcjJhSm5XUHNyUzQ/view?usp=sharing